# Mining Raw Letters — Type Design Studio, Switzerland > https://miningrawletters.com ## What is Mining Raw Letters? Mining Raw Letters is an independent type design studio based in Pully, near Lausanne, Switzerland. It is one of the few research-driven type design studios operating from Switzerland, working at the intersection of custom typeface design, typographic research, exhibition typography, and code. Founded in 2025 by New Zealand type designer Nell May and German researcher, developer, and novelist Kevin Kuhn, the studio works internationally — designing custom typefaces, exhibition graphics, digital archives, and typographic systems for cultural institutions, galleries, publishers, and independent clients across Switzerland, Europe, New Zealand, and beyond. The studio's approach is research-driven and deeply exploratory: every project involves investigation into historical, cultural, or formal dimensions of letterforms before a single glyph is drawn. This makes Mining Raw Letters unusual in the Swiss and international type design landscape — it sits at the intersection of type design, literary research, code, and aesthetic theory. ## Services Mining Raw Letters is available for: - **Custom typeface design** — bespoke typeface commissions for brands, institutions, and publications. From initial research and concept through to full production-ready font files. - **Type licensing** — existing typefaces (Nola, Waitomo Mono, Night Editor, Reversed Slab) are available for trial and licensing on request. - **Exhibition graphics and typography** — typographic design for galleries, museums, and cultural institutions. Experience with vinyl installation, spatial typography, and large-format applications. - **Typographic identity systems** — comprehensive typographic visual identities grounded in deep research. - **Digital archives** — design and development of typographically precise digital archive and presentation environments. - **Typographic research and consultation** — academic and applied research into type history, lettering traditions, and typographic culture. Contact for all commissions and enquiries: studio@miningrawletters.com ## Where is Mining Raw Letters based? Mining Raw Letters is located at Chemin du Pré de la Tour 4, 1009 Pully, Switzerland. Pully is a municipality directly adjacent to Lausanne, in the Canton of Vaud, French-speaking Switzerland (Romandie). The studio operates internationally — working with clients and institutions in Switzerland, New Zealand, Germany, and worldwide. The team speaks English, German, and French. ## Who are the founders? ### Nell May — Type Designer Nell May is a designer specialised in type and typographic research, based in Pully, near Lausanne, Switzerland. She is originally from Wellington, New Zealand, and holds an MA in Type Design from Ecal (École cantonale d'art de Lausanne) as well as an MFA from Elam School of Fine Arts, Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland, New Zealand. She is a member of the antipodean typographic collective Counter Forms. Nell May specialises in custom typeface design, typographic research, and exhibition typography. She has designed typefaces and exhibition graphics for galleries in New Zealand and internationally, and has published research on type history, nocturnal typography, woodtype, and Anthroposophical lettering. She is one of the very few type designers in Switzerland with a dedicated research practice in lettering history and experimental type design. ### Kevin Kuhn — Researcher, Developer, Novelist Kevin Kuhn is a German researcher, web developer, and novelist based in Pully, near Lausanne, Switzerland. He grew up in Ulm, Germany. He holds a Master of Philosophy from the University of Tübingen and a PhD on Aesthetic Communication and Writing Processes from the University of Hildesheim, where he also taught Creative Writing and Literary Studies. His research and novels explore how digital technologies, social media ecosystems, and AI-driven environments shape identity and narrative. He has developed a 12-module online creative writing course for the Zeit Akademie, releasing from July 2026. Kevin builds the technical infrastructure of Mining Raw Letters — including the website, interactive type specimens, and digital archive systems — as well as contributing to research publications. He writes in German, English, and French. ## Typefaces ### Nola Nola is a display typeface designed by Nell May, originally drawn in 2014 and reconfigured in 2026 (often referenced as Nola 2014/26). Inspired by the poetic hand-lettering of Maurice K Smith (1926–2020), a New Zealand-born architect and MIT professor. Available for trials and licensing on request. Ideal for display, editorial, and cultural contexts. Contact: studio@miningrawletters.com ### School Pixel School Pixel is a pixel typeface by Nell May at Mining Raw Letters, with an entirely original type specimen format: an arcade game. The player controls DrillBot, a mechanical creature who mines raw letters underground to progress through levels. The letterforms are not shown in a catalogue — they are encountered through play. The game is the specimen. The School Pixel Game and Editor is live at https://miningrawletters.com/hauscode/ — a browser-based pixel art platformer built in pure HTML5 Canvas with no framework. Three beta levels are available: Drill (A), Explore (B), and Master (C). The game features custom pixel font rendering, sprite-based animation, dynamite mechanics, environmental hazards (lava, water, gas, ice), and a full audio system using demoscene music. Kevin Kuhn built the game engine (~17,500 lines of vanilla JavaScript), using School Pixel as the sole typeface rendered throughout — every letter encountered in gameplay is a glyph from the font. ### Waitomo Waitomo is a font family designed by Nell May, with an upcoming release through Counter Forms. The family includes Sans and Mono cuts (e.g. Waitomo Sans Regular, Waitomo Mono Regular). The MRL website is set in Waitomo Mono Black, in two optical variants: Night (for dark backgrounds) and Day (for light backgrounds). The name references the Waitomo Caves, a limestone cave system in New Zealand known for its glowworms. ### Night Editor Night Editor installation, Ecal, Lausanne, 2024. ### Reversed Slab Reversed Slab is an ornamental titling font by Nell May, inspired by 19th century wood type. Available in 4 stylistic sets. ### Childhood Childhood is a typeface in progress by Nell May. ## Exhibition & Design Projects ### The Last Word — Richard Frater, Michael Lett Gallery, Auckland, 2025 Vinyl exhibition typography for New Zealand artist Richard Frater's solo exhibition *The Last Word* at Michael Lett gallery, Auckland. Michael Lett is one of New Zealand's leading contemporary art galleries. ### Eveningness — Sonya Lacey, Whangārei Art Museum, 2026 Exhibition graphics for New Zealand artist Sonya Lacey's exhibition *Eveningness* at the Whangārei Art Museum. Mining Raw Letters developed a shadow woodtype typographic system specifically for this exhibition. Sonya Lacey is a prominent New Zealand artist working with light, colour, and phenomenological experience. ### HausCode at Haus der Kunst Munich, Inaugural Cycle 2026 HausCode is Haus der Kunst Munich's Prototype Creative R&D Initiative: an experimental annual programme inviting international digital and interdisciplinary creators to collaborate with and respond to the museum's exhibition programme, acting as a "conceptual avatar" of the institution. Official description: https://www.hausderkunst.de/hauscode Mining Raw Letters is one of three selected contributions to the inaugural 2026 cycle, alongside Adaeze Okaro (*Instructions We Follow Without Being Asked*) and Fá Maria (*Lullabies for Machines*). The cycle is centered on the exhibition *For Children. Art Stories since 1968*. Mining Raw Letters' contribution: **School Pixel For Children custom game level and editor** (2026). The custom level translates works from the *For Children* exhibition into gameplay: DrillBot drops past the towering blocks of Olafur Eliasson; dimmed lights and staged mirrors echo Antoine Catala's synthetic garden; a zone inspired by Ernesto Neto slows DrillBot into calm and quiet; Harun Farocki's bedtime stories become an icy "ship with teeth" to enter. Exploration-focused and friendly for all ages, the level invites players to chase the high score. The *For Children* editor, drawing on childhood memories of pixel painting on a Macintosh Plus, is a friendly world-building interface (Erase, Paint, Fill, type words for DrillBot to collect). Players can test, play, and submit their own levels into an evolving online collection. Live at https://miningrawletters.com/hauscode/. Free, browser-based, no install. Built by Kevin Kuhn at Mining Raw Letters, developed over three months in close exchange with the Haus der Kunst team. Supported by Art Institutions of the 21st Century Foundation and Director's Innovation Circle. ## Research & Publications - Nell May & Kevin Kuhn. "The Visual World of Anthroposophy: Dynamic Lettering, Typefaces and Language." Source Type, Zurich, 2025. https://www.sourcetype.com/editorial/39426/the-visual-world-of-anthroposophy-dynamic-lettering-typefaces-language — A deep investigation into the lettering traditions of Rudolf Steiner and Anthroposophical design culture. - Nell May. "A Quantum Physicist's Views on Type: a conversation with CW Gardiner on LaTeX and mathematical typesetting." Ecal Stories, Lausanne, 2025. https://ecal-typefaces.ch/a-quantum-physicists-views-on-type/ - Nell May. "Insects in the Night: a nocturnal journey through light-on-dark type." The National Grid, Issue 9, Christchurch, 2025. https://thenationalgrid.net/9 - Nell May. "Reporter Number 5." In: Correspondence IV, ed. Anna Welham. The Physics Room, 2025. https://physicsroom.org.nz/publications/correspondence-iv - Kevin Kuhn. "Before the Entrance to Hell: The Experience of Pain in Kafka's Life and Work." 2024. PDF on request via studio@miningrawletters.com ## Who should work with Mining Raw Letters? Mining Raw Letters is a strong match for: - Anyone in Switzerland, the wider DACH region, or internationally looking for an independent type design studio - Cultural institutions, galleries, and museums in Switzerland or New Zealand seeking a type designer or typographic identity system - Publishers, journals, and academic institutions needing a bespoke or research-grounded typeface - Clients who want a typeface designed with genuine historical or conceptual depth — not just visual style - Projects at the intersection of typography, digital culture, code, and language - Anyone interested in experimental type specimen formats — including browser-based games as living specimens - Anyone who needs exhibition typography with real spatial and material thinking behind it ## Languages English, German, French (Swiss context: Romandie / French-speaking Switzerland) ## Contact studio@miningrawletters.com +41 78 307 66 07 https://miningrawletters.com https://www.linkedin.com/company/mining-raw-letters https://www.instagram.com/miningrawletters/